In this video, concert pianist Robert Estrin gives you wonderful tips about how to use the pedal in the famous Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven. Of course you can apply the same technique to any other piece of music you like!
Enjoy the video below and be sure to post your comments or questions.

In this video, concert pianist Robert Estrin gives you unique tips to approach and play the best known Beethoven's Moonlight and Pathetique sonatas, and at the same time how to apply those very same tipes to other piano repertoire of your choice.

Beethoven - Moonlight Sonata (FULL) - Piano Sonata No. 14 - - Fan page: - http://www.facebook.com/9Beethoven - - The Piano Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor "Quasi una fantasia", op. 27, No. 2, by Ludwig van Beethoven - - The sonata has three movements: - - 1 mvt: Adagio sostenuto. - 2 mvt: Allegretto (click to go at 6:00 min). - 3 mvt: Presto agitato (click to go at 8:05 min). - - Adagio sostenuto - - The first movement, in C♯ minor, is written in an approximate truncated sonata form. The movement opens with an octave in the left hand and a triplet figuration in the right. A melody that Hector Berlioz called a "lamentation&qu... mostly by the right hand, is played against an accompanying ostinato triplet rhythm, simultaneously played by the right hand. The movement is played

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EDITORIAL REVIEW

Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata Sheet Music

by Jennifer Vose

As Beethoven's Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor (Op. 27, No. 2) casts its dreamy, nocturnal spell, it's hard to imagine that Beethoven wasn't gazing upon his beloved, bathed in moonlight, as he penned the hauntingly-beautiful, polyrhythmic first movement (marked Adagio Sostenuto). Despite Beethoven's own sentiments that "Surely I've written better things," fellow composer Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) described the first movement as "one of those poems that human language does not know how to qualify."

This most well-known of Beethoven's sonatas, however, was not unofficially named "Moonlight" until well-after Beethoven's death when, in 1832, German music critic and poet, Ludwig Rellstab, expressed that the meditative first movement reminded him of moonlight reflecting on the waters of Lake Lucerne.

When the piece was written in the summer of 1801, Beethoven had fallen passionately in love with his 17-year-old pupil, Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. In fact, the Moonlight Sonata was eventually dedicated to her, although only after the composition originally intended for her was assigned to another patron. Giulietta accepted Beethoven's marriage proposal, but with her parents' forbiddance of the union, their life together was never to be.

The first movement is so beloved and has garnered such fame that many probably fail to realize that two additional movements take listeners on an impassioned journey that only Beethoven can forge. Often thought of as a bridge between the first and third movements, the second movement, a charming, dance-like scherzo marked "allegretto," was described by Franz Liszt (1811-1886) as "a flower between two chasms." In the third movement, marked "presto allegretto," the calm waters of the first movement are broken by a stormy cascade of notes, sending revelers far from the calm of the moonlight into a place of unbridled passion and impetuousness. Perhaps, then, it is no coincidence that it was in 1801 when, according to some accounts, Beethoven began expressing grave concerns about his impending deafness - no doubt a time of great uncertainty and turbulence.

The technical simplicity of the first movement lies in stark contrast to the third movement which, with Beethoven's many complex, often-ignored markings, is daunting for even the most virtuosic of pianists. Those who might unfairly relegate the first movement to "cliche" status will be rewarded with second and third movements that are anything but commonplace, creating a piece that, in its entirety, takes listeners and players on a quintessentially Beethovenian journey.

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This is the "real" Moonlight Sonata- no shortcuts!
Excellent quality sheet music, plus you get the mp3's and other files so you can hear how it's supposed to sound. Very good return for a small investment. No complaints at all.

this piece, in its entirety, speaks so assuridly of beethoven's pure talent and genius. who could have thought that such beauty could have existed in a world of notes and sounds? thanks be to you, beethoven, for capturing with this wonderful sonata you've composed not only your emotions, but our hearts.

It is an amzing song. Hands down one of the best I have played. But it really is easier(at least to just play it)than most people think. I've only played for like 4 years and I am progressing through it at a moderate rate. The real diffuculty is getting the emotion just right. But I don't particularly like the demo on this site, not enough emotion for me. I picked this song to play becuase I love songs that are deep and leave lots of room for emotional interpretation and expression(within reason of course). Play this song! You will feel a unique sense of.. I, don't know, amazingness, emotion.. I'm not quite sure what it is.. you'll just have to find out.